Day 1 Riding - Geneva to Chexbres, 9/10/2016

Today will be a short Blog as it is 11:00 pm and we are just now getting to bed. We had a VERY long wait for dinner and the Europeans do not understand the concept of separate checks. As you can well imagine trying to split the bill among 24 people was a bit of a challenge.  Enough said about that. 

We were off this morning and met in the park to take photos and pick up our bikes.

We posed with both our Trilogy jerseys and with these yellow shirts that we wore for a charity event to benefit the New England Parkinson's ride going on in the USA today. We were doing a virtual ride here and were the European contingency for Team Axiom. 

These are our three of the four touring women and wives of riders who chose the trains and sightseeing over riding a bike.   (L/R - Ginger, Darlene and Sandra) - Denise not pictured)

 

Ready, set, GO! Ken led the ride and safely took us out of Geneva and into the countryside. Well done Ken! Try doing that with 20 riders, whew!

Once we got our riding rhythm going we could all settle in and enjoy the quiet roads and beautiful scenery. We rode alongside Lake Geneva and in and out of some very small and quaint towns. Then we hit the farmland and my friend (farmer) Steve Scott explained what was being grown in the fields. I always wanted to know that information as I travel down the highways. 

We saw corn, carrots, beans, squash, pears, grapes and even apples. Steve is a wealth of information and explained the growing processes in detail, especially about corn. I told him I learned so much from him that now I feel like I might just qualify for a degree in "Cornology". 

As we rolled along, the farmlands slowly gave way to vineyards and as we got closer to the lake we had splendid views on both sides of the road. The route was well planned and we were on some roads that were so narrow we thought they were pathways. That is until we saw the cars either passing or coming towards us. There really was not a lot of room to maneuver. Gratefully there wasn't much traffic.

We stopped for a break in the small town of Rolle and lounged in a small park. Some of us went to the cafe across the street for coffee or espresso and a quick snack. there.

Suzi, Milly, June and I posed for a photo with the cafe owner, who did not speak one word of English but was very nice and happy to have us visit his cafe.

However, we all agreed that he was smitten by our friend Milly. He even offered to show her his apartment upstairs from his cafe, but alas, we had to hit the road. Maybe next time Milly?

A bit further down the road we turned into a small village and rode to the lakefront for some photo ops. 

We then were off to ride along more of the shoreline and to Lausanne to indulge in crepes at a lakeside cafe discovered earlier in the week by some of our buddies.  It was quite impressive to see 20 riders wearingTrilogy jerseys descend upon this outdoor cafe.

I Split this yummy treat with my "brother-from-another-mother" David Wheat. Was it worth it? You bet!

Then we were ready for the last part of the ride, uphill most of the way. This gave us plenty of opportunity to burn off some of those crepes calories. This last part of our ride was quite steep but we were rewarded with extraordinary views. These vineyards we passed are precariously planted on steep hillsides and are breathtaking. 

The higher we climbed, the better the panoramic view. The road was fairly narrow, but in excellent condition and the grades were doable at 6-7%.

That is until we got to the turnoff for the hotel where the 1/2 a mile (+/-) entrance sported grades of up to 12%. Why does the last part of the ride always seem to have extra challenges?

We had a weather forecast that predicted rain this afternoon, but the sun gods must have been with us as we were treated to sunny skies and 80 degree temps. More tomorrow, gotta get some rest and this is a lot more than I planned to write.

Bonjour!